A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned with Earth between the other two, and only on the night of a full moon.
The Moon can also look reddish because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs the other colors while it bends some sunlight toward the Moon. Sunlight bending through the atmosphere and absorbing other colors is also why sunsets are orange and red.
During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is shining from all the sunrises and sunsets occurring on Earth!
You might be wondering why we don’t have a lunar eclipse every month as the Moon orbits Earth. It’s true that the Moon goes around Earth every month, but it doesn’t always get in Earth’s shadow. The Moon’s path around Earth is tilted compared to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The Moon can be behind Earth but still get hit by light from the Sun.
Because they don’t happen every month, a lunar eclipse is a special event. Unlike solar eclipses, lots of people get to see each lunar eclipse. If you live on the nighttime half of Earth when the eclipse happens, you’ll be able to see it.
Picture Credit : Google
